Willow's Rose
by Christy W
Summary: Willow has been told she's her daughter's new Watcher. But, can she protect her family from the Watcher's Council after they deliver an ultimatum? Part 2 of 3 in the Rose Legacy Series- Part 1 (Rose on a Grave) in under Buffy non crossovers and part 3 (Rose Inheritance) is in this category as well
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This stuff isn't mine. It's all Joss Whedon's, except for the story itself. I'm just borrowing the characters. However, Robert Travers, Rose, Lizzy, Jeremy, and Willow Anne are all mine.

Author's Note: This takes place in an alternate future, where Angel never left, but Cordy did, and Willow and Xander had started to date.

Chapter 1

"Rose Nicole De Mornay, where are you?" cried Willow to the ceiling. She was extremely worried. Rose, her fifteen-year-old daughter with Angel, had been out for far too long. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

She opened it to see Angel carrying Rose. "Quick! Close it; they're right behind me!" he yelled, which she did.

"What happened?" she asked, panicked, as she ran to get Angel the first aid kit.

"She was attacked by some of Spike's goons."

"Damn! Haven't they caused us all enough trouble?" cried Willow, reminded of that day when she had simultaneously lost both her best friend and her first husband. She shook her head. _I don't have time for this. I need to take care of Rose._ "Why would they do this?" she asked Angel. "I mean, could it just be because the Slayer's friend is her mother? Besides, I was only a temporary Slayer!"

"Relax. I'll call Rupert. Maybe he knows something," said Angel. He went to pick up the phone, but it rang first.

"Yes? Oh, I was just going to call you…..Really?…Oh, really? Well, thank you. That helps shed light on the subject…..No, no need. Tell Jenny I said hi. All right. Goodbye."

"Giles?"

"Yes. Apparently, he got a call last week from the Council, considering we were out last week."

"Oh? What did they have to say?"

"They said you had a new Slayer- Rose."

"What?!"

"Yeah. Apparently, they couldn't reach us, so they called Rupert and told him."

"Damn! Spike must have found out and decided to try for a fourth Slayer," Willow said derisively.

"Don't worry. Let's finish getting Rose patched up and off to bed. We can start training her as a Slayer soon. Don't forget. Buffy was Rose's age when she was called."

"That's true," agreed Willow, as they set about to tend their daughter's wounds.


	2. Chapter 2

~Two and a half years later~

"Hey, Mom. Why didn't you tell me that a Torak demon was so messy to clean up?"

Willow laughed. "Sorry. I forgot. Angel's got more experience with this type of thing than I ever did."

"Hey, Mrs. DeMornay. Anything we can do to help?"

Willow smiled at the young woman's question. Elizabeth reminded her of herself when she had been in high school, training with Buffy.

Her smile was bittersweet as she directed the two girls as to what to do with the demon. She had taken over Giles's old job as a cover for her being a Watcher when the high school had been rebuilt about 15 years ago. The Council had also managed to get Giles the job of principal. They all found that it made things run more smoothly if the principal understood why one woman, at various times during the year, would be tardy or absent. In the past 15 years, Willow had been given two Slayers, not counting Rose. The arrival of the third member of the new Scooby Gang broke her from her reverie.

"Hey, Rose. Lizzy. So, what's on the menu for today?"

"Cleaning up Torak demon, Jeremy," Rose said with a grimace.

"You guys sure remind me of the original Scooby Gang we used to have here. You know, this is the first time since Buffy that the Slayer's had help again. It's good for Rose."

"Mom!"

"Excuse me, Mrs. DeMornay?"

"Yes?"

"Someone here to see you. He said it's about your second job."

Willow paled a little. "Jeremy, Elizabeth, Rose- go see Giles and stay there until I tell you to."

"But Mom-"

"Go!"

Rose was going to keep protesting, but, from the look on her mother's face, decided against it, and dragged her two friends out, going to let her father know as well.

"Ah, Mrs. DeMornay. So good to see you again!" said Robert Travers.

_I still can't believe someone would actually_ marry _Quentin Travers, let alone give him a son,_ she thought derisively. "The feeling's mutual, I assure you," she said sarcastically. "So, what brings you to Sunnydale?"

"Well, having already had two Slayers before, you should know what's coming."

"The Cruciamentum," Willow said bitterly.

"That's right. Rose will be 18 in a month. You know what you have to do. Good day."

"No."

Travers turned around, disbelief writ across his face. "What did you say?"

"I said 'no'. I will **not** put my daughter through this. I can't."

A hostile glint in his eyes, Travers stalked her until he had her pinned against the table. "You can and you **will**!"

"Like hell! The last Slayer I gave the Cruciamentum to was killed by Drusilla. I will not allow the possibility of that happening to my daughter!"

Robert sighed. "Ah, well. I had hoped you would use your own initiative before I would have to resort to ours." And, with that cryptic statement, he turned to leave, running right into Angel.

"Travers. What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. Just reminding your wife of her duties," he said snidely, leaving with tension in his wake.

"God, Angel. What am I going to do?"

"What did he say?"

Willow proceeded to explain about Rose and the Cruciamentum.

"Damn him! But, the Watcher's Council wouldn't dare try anything," Angel said soothingly. "We'll take care of this."

*****

"Yes? Demarcation team for four? All right, I'll get right on it. Yes, sir. I understand. No, Mr. Travers, they won't escape."

"What was that?"

"We've been informed about a family with the possibility of them being turned. Get together a scouting team, Agent Finn."

"Understood, sir."


	3. Chapter 3

~Three weeks later~

"Well, haven't seen much of anything around here, Mom, 'cept for the usual amount of vamps. Anything else you-"

"Hey, Rose, come outside! There's this _really_ hot guy. You've _got_ to see him!" cried Elizabeth, running into the library.

Willow chuckled. "Go, go," she motioned, letting the girls go.

But, before they could leave, the gentleman in question walked into the library, and just turned around in a circle, slowly. "Definite improvements over the last time I was here," he said, facing Willow.

"Oh, when was that?"

"Oh, you, me, Buffy, impending apocalypse, paintball."

"Oh my gosh! Riley Finn! It's good to see you again!"

"You mean your mom knows the hottie?" Elizabeth asked Rose conspiratorially. "Man, she's got all the luck!"

"Oh, Riley, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? This is my daughter, Rose, and her friend, Elizabeth. They're part of the new Scooby Gang. Girls, this is Riley Finn. He used to date Buffy Summers, the first Slayer to train here at Sunnydale High. So, why are you in town?"

"Actually, it's classified. I'm working for the organization that owns the Initiative."

At the mention of the name of the group she had discovered in college, Willow looked stunned for a moment. "Riley," she asked in a hushed voice, "What's the name of the organization?"

"That owns the Initiative? I thought you'd found out."

"No, I hadn't."

"It's the Watcher's Council, why?"

Willow just stared at him in shock before collapsing into a dead faint.

Riley caught the young woman, then turned to Rose, "Rose, go get you father. Now!"

Rose and Liz rushed out.

"Come on, Wills, wake up."

"What happened?" asked Angel, running into the library. He and Riley had formed a tentative friendship after Angel had met the young man. Riley hadn't begrudged him when, as Riley was posted overseas, Buffy had decided to get back with her old boyfriend.

"I'm not sure. We had been talking, and she fainted."

"Um, dad, maybe it could've been something Riley said," suggested Rose.

Riley told Angel what they'd said, but the former vampire couldn't see anything that could have done that.

"Look, I have to go take care of my job. I just thought I'd drop by and say hi. Hope Willow's okay. I'll see you all later."  
Angel said bye, and then held some smelling salts under his wife's nose, causing her to wake up with a gasp.

"Willow, honey, what happened?"

"Travers! He's sent the Initiative to get rid of us. I just _know_ it!"

Angel just held her close. "Relax. We'll figure it out."

******

6 days later

Riley came into the library. "Willow, are you in here?" he called.

She came out from among the bookshelves. "Yeah, Riley. What is it?"

"I've got some bad news. Is Angel or Rose here?"

"Yeah, I'll go get them. What's the problem?"

Riley didn't answer until the whole DeMornay family, sans Willow Anne, Buffy's daughter, was in the library. He sighed, then began. "It's about my mission here. It's Travers. I was ordered to eliminate the DeMornay family, since they had been captured and turned. I didn't make the connection until I went to check out the house, then remembered about the wedding announcements. Anyway, Travers wanted to make sure you were all completely eliminated. For what reason, I can't tell you, because I don't know."

Willow gasped. "My god! Travers is worse than his father! He will do whatever he can to get rid of us, just because I refused to give Rose the Cruciamentum!"

"Huh?"

"Don't worry. Just, what do we do now?"

"I can get the three of you out of the country. Well, that's good. But, why would Travers do this? Just because you wouldn't give Rose the Cruciamentum? What is a Cruciamentumanyway?"

"What it is, is that, on every Slayer's 18th birthday, they are given a special serum that makes them like any other human, and they are supposed to fight, and defeat, some sort of demon that the Council chooses," said Angel grimly.

"Did Buffy go through this?" asked Riley in wonderment and horror.

"Yes. And Giles wasn't supposed to help her, but he did."

"That's barbaric! Look, I have a friend that I can contact. He'll help you out."

"Good. This is the son of the man who had Giles removed as Buffy's Watcher, and, since Buffy had his father killed, he might have something to do with her death, as well. Buffy proved that the Slayers didn't need the entire Watcher's Council. I got in it to try and change things. I'm surprised that they didn't have Giles killed as well when they had him removed."

"Don't worry. I'll get you all to England. I know the founder of the Initiative. He might be able to help."


	4. Chapter 4

~The next day~

"Happy birthday, Rose!"

"Oh, guys, this is so cool!"

Willow and Angel were both keyed up, but managed to hide it from Rose and her friends as they all celebrated at her birthday party. They trusted Riley. He had said he would take care of all of it.

Thankfully, nothing happened during the party. After Willow had seen them all safely off, she turned to Angel. "Now what?"

"You get in the van," said Riley, coming in from the back.

"Oh, you mean like in Eraser?" asked Rose.

Riley stared at her. "Yeah, just like that. Wait, you've seen it?"

"Sure. Dad rented it once."

"Oookay," said Riley, dragging in three corpses. "They don't have to look like you. You'll see why."

*******

Fifteen minutes later, Willow, Rose, and Angel watched from across the street as a 'faulty wire' sparked, setting the house ablaze. Willow sobbed into Angel's chest quietly. "God, Angel. Why? Why would Travers do such a thing?"

"Willow, I wish I knew. Hopefully, this friend of Riley's can help us figure that out."

"Don't worry. He will. I've sent him an email telling him about your ordeal. Here are your tickets to London under David, Elisa, and Beth Pierce. Here's a key to a flat at 16 Picadilly Circus. It's already furnished," said Riley, as he drove the short distance to the Sunnydale airport.

"Good. Now, the name of your contact is a man named Adam Pierson."

"Okay. Oh, and Riley? Thanks for helping us out. We won't forget it," said Willow, hugging Riley tightly before joining her family.


End file.
